Nicola Adams, the Olympic gold medallist, says it is great that Pippa
Middleton has tried out boxing.

Pippa Middleton is the sister of the Duchess of Cambridge

Tim Walker. Edited by Richard Eden

7:26AM BST 21 Sep 2013

Nicola Adams, who won boxing gold at the London Olympics, has praised Pippa Middleton for showing that the sport is enjoyed by all social classes.

The Duchess of Cambridge’s sister wrote about how she had taken up boxing in her debut Sport and Social column in The Daily Telegraph last weekend.

“It’s great that she’s tried boxing,” Adams tells Mandrake at the Bloomberg Square Mile Relay with Virgin Active at the Guildhall, in the City of London. “I would love to see more girls try it out.”

The 30-year-old Yorkshirewoman, who appears in Marks & Spencer’s “leading ladies” advertising campaign, adds: “Since the Olympics, I think, the number of girls boxing has gone up by 50 per cent, which is brilliant.”

Adam Bidwell, who takes part in Saturday's Boodles Boxing Ball, uses the scar on the right side of his torso as a chat-up line.

The former rugby player, who split up with the singer Katherine Jenkins last month, says: “I always tell people my abs were so big I had to have a rib removed, but, actually, it’s a scar I’ve had since I was a baby.